Winged
by FallenR
Summary: The first time she used her sister's book, the whole town was massacred.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own DGrayman.

* * *

Propping a leg up, she hoisted her body upright, feeling her heavy wings sink, tearing at the cut flesh on her back where the akumas had scored successful hits. Gritting her teeth, she rose to full length, refusing to relent to the instinctual wincing at the stabs of pain from her wounds. Her wings sagged minutely. The aching muscles in her back screamed for release.

_No, not yet._

Within the confines of the energy shield behind her, protects several hundreds of people, innocent townsfolk influenced by only their beliefs, weak and frail against the monsters she was facing.

_Protect them, _a voice, long washed away by time resurfaced as she faintly heard the hushed and panicked breaths from behind the closed town gate just inches from the energy field she was leaning on.

Abruptly, she in another scene, in an entire other setting. The shackles at her wrist had dug deeply from when she first struggled to release herself from the bonds that held her before the church altar. They hung limp then, the iron chains weighing her limbs down. She heard nothing but terrified screams of the towns people staring at the face of death for the first and last time of their lives.

A dark foreboding reach her, she stared in its direction. The figureless sense of danger glared back almost menacingly. Not a moment later, the large stained windows exploded inwards, showering shards of glinting glass onto the benches that occupied the majority of the long church. A round figure appeared in the space of the windows. It turned, revealing the face eternally contorted into a silent cry of pain. Its eyes reflected nothing of the actions of its body; it contained fear while its physical body slaughtered others.

Just as the mechanical cackling of the three akumas drew closer, her attention of the present returned. Hefting herself from the energy wall, her legs wobbled slightly under the weight of her torso.

_Protect them, even when they don't love you, _her sister had screamed when she had dug her feathers into the black skeleton marked only by the blood red name on its brow; _Vel._

_Mother said the same thing, _she thought while staring at the hideously looking machines that came stalking at her. _They hate me for what I am not, but they only have me to defend them._

The stare solidify into determination.

Hunching her shoulders, she braced a foot against the energy generated wall.

Her wings snapped into full length.

_Take my strength!_

It took a moment for the command to take effect, but respond, her wings did.

Heat bled out of her innards quickly, flowing like a river to an unknown destination while the small in her back where her wings protruded from grew hotter, gaining energy. The air around her became frigid with a cold she could not feel earlier. She felt her body heat up, but feeling none of the warmth in her horribly cold core. The contrast almost had her lose the steady thread of concentration on her determination. Grunting, she took to the changes.

Like a tide, the energy she felt receding came crushing back, flowing like molten lead in her veins, dropping almost free-flowingly to the bottoms of her feet while inching painfully up her throat.

The burning sensation seared across her cheeks. The heated trails across her body no doubt left dark curled patterns, her first time seeing it in thousands of glass shards reflecting herself as the beast of apocalypse.

A second wave of heat rose from her chest. The constriction in her throat forced her head skywards. She winced as the slash across her chest stretched, recoiling.

The level threes drew closer. Almost two buildings away from her now.

She raised an arm in front of her body as if a ward, fingers curling inwards.

_The change is not fast enough._

"Too slow!" a high pitched sneer called out just before the one of the akumas disappeared from sight, only to reappear right in front of her, swinging a well armored arm at her head.

Weakened by the previous battering, the exorcist took the blow with her upraised arm to the side, dampening the force of the side punch. It was however, still strong enough to sweep her off her feet and into the unshielded town gate protruding from a side of the wall. She did not rise immediately.

"Well, well," the dark green humanoid akuma quipped, leading the other two towards the lump of cloth that was the exorcist. "You were pretty good, for a _girl_,"

"But not good enough!" the second, a navy blue akuma with a horn on its skull side-stepped the first, aiming a kick at the fallen girl, and stumbled upon realizing the clump stuck to his foot.

"Hey!" he shook his appendage to dislodge the black clothed girl that was clinging onto his talons as if her life depended on it.

She said nothing, her silence disturbed only by her ragged breathing.

"Let go!" the frustrated akuma hissed, kicking his caught foot at the town gates, earning muffled grunts from the exorcist.

Her grip tightened.

"Hey!" the now irritated level three yelped, feeling the determined clutch on his leg turn into a choke worthy squeeze.

The exorcist growled, a low throaty sound from deep within her small frame. With a swish, the dark wings tucked into her cloak that hung in tatters sprung open, then closed again to clamp around the leg of the akuma. A set of claws rose from the black mass shot into the edge of the akuma's armor around its knee area, instantaneously tearing the limb off with strength she had not displayed earlier in the fight. Faster than the akumas' multiple eyes were able to catch, the black mass quickly ascended the akuma's body length, leaving a trail of destruction.

"What t-" the first akuma that spoke barely finished before the exorcist launched herself at its head. For a split second, the level three glimpse the deranged glare from the now ebony black orbs that were the exorcist's eyes; and skin decorated with black fire, tattooed into the girl's face. It was the face of rage if it had a body. Around her head, she was framed by the bright orange explosion of the first akuma she had laid waste to.

* * *

A/N: A random story of a random exorcist that happen to exist in a random time... I still don't get why the show was called man. What's so grey/gray about it? This may or may not continue. It depends quite heavily on inspiration and the amount of time I have to spend on studies, or school related things (which is, a **lot**). I do have another chapter and a half after this one...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I do not own DGrayman.

* * *

As the finder assigned on look out at the top of the town wall turned to give the all clear signal, the other four brown cloaked men systematically shut down the talismans that surrounded the town centre. The towns people stared on, still dumbfounded at the sounds of explosions.

Attention was directed at the previously unprotected city gates as it was pushed inwards, allowing a sliver light from the bonfire burning outside in. A small figure stepped through.

She stood upright despite her battle wounds and obviously ravaged attire – which, luckily, was not torn to the point of inappropriate dressing for a female – , walking in a humble way, her cloak's hood obscuring her face. The approximate two hundred people of the town remained unspeaking, watching in awe as they looked upon the first exorcist they have ever seen return from battle with monsters no humans could fight.

They could almost hear the silent impacts of the short girl's footsteps towards the town hall where the landlord was standing, mouth agape in astonishment. He was the first of the town to voice his skeptics of the child exorcist's abilities to protect the town from the onslaught of akumas.

His view obviously proved not to be of consequence, he could only nod when the exorcist quietly motioned to the large tiled clock at the peak of the town hall with a gloved hand, inquiring, "May I?"

The unfurling of the exorcist dark wings was about the most impactful moment of the mayor's life. He would later tell his children he saw the angel of salvation that day.

With two down strokes, the girl brought herself before the meter wide mosaic clock, tentatively plucking off a glove to reveal her sharpened claws. As the second arm of the clock passed an out of place blue tile in the clock, she dug a nail into its edge, breaking the cement holding it in place. The square tile popped out, landing softly on her gloved hand. Swiftly pocketing the object, she tugged her gloved on again, descending to ground level. A finder was already explaining to the mayor that their job there was complete and they would leave the area immediately.

Landing, the exorcist turned heels and headed for the gates for the second time that day.

"Wait," the mayor's deep-turned-squeak voice called. The hooded exorcist halted in her step, not turning or lifting her head to expose her face. "I don't even know your name,"

"Rel," she answered hesitantly, softly, as if being introduced to class for the first time. The finders accompanying her was reminded yet again the young age of the female exorcist. She was even younger than some of their own children.

With no other words exchanged, the group of six moved to exit the silent town.

* * *

"We must hurry back now," the soft voice murmured to the five adults behind her.

"Ma'am, the next train that leaves for the Headquarters departs the station in two minutes," the leader of the squadron replied. He noticed a moment too late that Rel's voice seemed strained. "Do you wish to board it?"

"Yes," she whispered, crouching mid-stride, and then launched her body towards a tree branch.

_She is not flying?_ The finder thought to himself. Rel was known for flying while the finders raced after her in the Order, as she had done on the journey here. He leapt after her about the same time as the other finders.

As if sensing the puzzlement, Rel answered his unvoiced query.

"My wings are damaged,"

_She hadn't showed a single sign that she was hurt! _He thought, then mentally slapped himself, _her voice was the first sign! _She was too soft to truly be 'alright'. Her pulled up hood was a second. Normally, she would have tried to dismiss others' worries with a smile, but the short conversation with the mayor while keeping her face down should have registered as a cause for concern to the finder assigned to her personal safety. _Not that I can do much, being just a finder. _Nevertheless, the chief had deemed it fit to have a personal guardian to watch for her health while she was beyond the protection of the Order. He was tasked to report an inventory of misplaced events that happened around Rel, be it a cringe without a cause or simply a slight groan in her sleep.

He was not aware of the reason Chief Komui had to commit an entire squadron to do the task, but he knew the man, though with a sister-complex, was capable and would do everything in his power to protect those who were at the mercy of the Order. Namely, the exorcists.

Every finder had at least an ounce of pity for the poor exorcists of the Order, be it conscious or not. He himself acknowledge that he had often watched from a side of the Headquarter's cafeteria at the group of exorcists, often wondering what pain they must have endured against the akumas. He pitied, no, he felt for them, but he had no solution as to how he could help ease their burdens. He could only do as all other humans could do, pray for them.

At the moment, he sent a prayer to the god above for Rel's safety, hoping that her wounds were not at all serious. _Who am I kidding? She is not flying! _Flying, was one thing Rel had been seen enjoying herself. To not do so when she could, even wounded, meant that she was forced not to.

Now, the finder blinked with stark revelation that the glimmer on her back and her wings in front of the town hall had been her blood, its existence overlooked by the dark surface it coated.

_Dear god, _he mentally gasped.

"Get ready," Rel called out, pointing at the dissipating line of smoke in the distance.

The finders gripped the straps of heavy equipment tied to their backs, readying themselves for a less than pleasant landing on a fast moving train.

Seconds later, they leapt from the rusting steel top of the train station and onto the dry surface of the still moving cabin roof. Rel held her hood around her head to keep it from billowing open.

The leader of the squadron of finders noted that Rel landed at a slightly awkward angle, favoring her right leg.

Finding the loose clasp in the latch of the roof opening, he heaved the cover open, motioning for the child exorcist to enter first.

As he dropped into the cabin last, he caught the end of a tirade of the cabin attendee, cut off by another finder's brief explanation that they were from the Order to which a swift motion showed them the way to the elite cabins.

As per usual, the finders remained outside the private room of the cabin the exorcist chose. The leader hurriedly set down his portable communication device, dialing to Headquarters.

* * *

Rel flopped across the seat in the private room after ensuring that the doors were locked. Her face planted into the plush covering of the seat, she groped around with her hand to find the edge of the curtains framing the room window. Yanking the fabric close to protect her now overly sensitive eyes from the late afternoon's rays, she let her arm drop, hanging limply at the edge of the seat.

The injuries she had suffered from before the activation of her innocence had healed to nothing more than pink marred lines, no longer hurting. Her left leg had been a target of mutilation when the akumas was on their last moments, clawing frantically at her for her equally rushed motions to dismember them limb from limb. Quick as she was to dispose of them, they had enough time to gouge into her calf twice with their wickedly curled talons.

Slowly, she lifted the now throbbing limb onto the armrest of the seat. It landed on the soft surface with a sharp sting, having already begun healing.

Rel had felt feverish while leaving the town, wishing wholeheartedly that she could be in bed and sleeping for as long as she wanted to. A wish that would be granted as she reached Headquarters, knowing that the chief knew of her need to rest from using her anti-akuma weapon and would not disturb her at the first sign of trouble.

Turning her head to the side for easier excess to air, her hood fell back. She glimpse the reflection of her face on the shiny vase on the only table in the room. The tiny slither of light reflected glowed. The patterned curls on her face was still present.

The activation of her innocence had resulted in the energy in her body focused on parts of her body she utilize to fight akumas. The concentration of highly potent charge left visible markings on her body as an aftereffect that does not fade until at least a day after the deactivation of her innocence. Staring at the black curl that led from the somewhere below her neckline to her jawbone across her cheek, ending with a slight point, Rel thought back to the moment of her innocence's activation.

The energy had surged back into her body after it was drained and gathered, but she had noticed an unfamiliar block in the mid of her throat. It was inconsequential then, but now that she had time to think it through, Rel noticed the event never occurring before.

_"What happened to the Fallen Ones, exorcists whose compatibility with his innocence fell below zero percent, may happen to you, if you insist on avoiding your second anti-akuma weapon,"_ Hevleska's ominous warning resounded in Rel's mind.

_Sister died because of that thing, _Rel lamented. It had become almost like a mantra to her, to stop her mind from pondering the possibilities of ever synchronizing with the innocence her sister was once the accommodator to. _Never, _she reaffirmed with herself.

With her mind set on focusing solely on rest, Rel turned her face towards the back of the seat, pulling her hood over her head in case the finders entered. The rhythmic rumbling of the locomotive wheels below her lulled her slowly into unconsciousness. A thread of her mind, however, remained clear of her surroundings, as she had trained herself to, in case the always tired nature of being a parasitic accommodator landed her in danger she did not want to be in.

_"-her back was covered with blood," a voice panicked, whispering and often hissing. "her right leg is injured,"_

_ "Is she sleeping?" The familiar voice of Komui spoke, crackling a little as static interfered the transmission. A shuffle signaled the lifting of the bamboo strung curtain covering the small window in the room door._

_ "Yes sir,"_

_ "Let her sleep for now, do not disturb her," Komui instructed, "If she continues keeping her hood up by the time you alight, alert me."_

Half a day later, the train skidded to a stop in the station, from which a figure clothed in black alighted with men in beige cloaks.

* * *

The boat swayed slightly as Rel moved to the tip. The small lighted bank of the underground river the boat was occupied with people milling around. People carrying cases labeled with large red crosses, Rel noticed as the flickering lamplight reflected off the white boxes' surface.

Mil did call Komui to inform him about her condition, she observed, having already heard the conversation of the two men outside the doors of her cabin.

Hunching her shoulders with a sigh, Rel pulled her hood further down her face. She pointedly ignored the probing stares of the finders behind her, clearly watching her every motion for a reaction to the welcoming committee.

As the boatman rowed the small boat forward, Rel was able to identify a couple of doctors and nurses at the fortified shore that served as the secret port of the Order. One particular nurse stood regally in front of the cohort.

Rel blanched. _They couldn't send any other nurse, but _her_, _she groaned internally.

The head nurse was about the most imposing sight to Rel right now. She knew how to get past akuma, but this woman seemed to carry the absolute power in the world. Patients under her care could not leave without her say so; neither could would-be patients escape her wrath.

Right now, it was Rel with a 'would-be' sign stamped on her forehead.

With Rel's mental stimulations of escaping running at hundreds of miles an hour, the wooden boat drifted to the bank, hitting lightly against the stone surface.

"Miss Rel, the Chief has requested for your immediate admission into the medical wing," the firm but warm voice of the Head nurse called as Rel slowly stepped from the still rocking boat.

_Darn,_ she hissed mentally, any thought of escaping dissolved at the mention of the obvious direct order.

She said nothing as the head nurse moved to her side, an arm closing in on her shoulders. Just before they could touch her cloak, Rel stepped forward. She knew the kind but sometimes terrifying nurse would literally 'freak out' if she felt the somewhat damp cloak on her back. The thick fabric had allowed only the blood at the surface to dry off while leaving the cotton underneath completely wet.

Rel was reminded of the presence of the innocence they just retrieved by the slight pressure at her side. Turning around, she confirmed that Mil was on solid ground before reaching into her pocket for the blue tile she had removed from the clock tower in the town they returned from.

Lightly glowing in the dark hollow, Rel realized with a start that the tile was smeared with dead blood. In a swift movement, she wiped the small tile off with her glove; she stuck it out to the leader of the squadron. _Too late._

"What is this, young lady?" The head nurse hollered, snatching Rel's wrist to see the semi-lucent tile. A corner of the porcelain piece was still covered with a sheen of dark red. The head nurse turned to glare at Rel's face, still covered by her hood. Cringing, Rel tried to draw away from the aged woman.

Darting a hand out with speed that rivaled a rattlesnake, Rel's hood was thrown open, revealing the dark scrawls of black that stained her face and neck. Rel's abruptly panicked eyes met the woman's when revelation dawned on her that the girl was afraid of people's judgment on her current appearance. Her gaze softened from her shocked look, silently urging the girl that it was alright to show others her marred looks.

She touched a finger to the sharp point of Rel's chin, gently tilting her skull this way and that to examine if she was visibly hurt there. Taking the palm sized tile from the short exorcist, the head nurse instructed the finders to escort the innocence personally to Hevleska's chamber, and then led the girl into the hollow in the large wall of the cave with a soft tug on her hand.

* * *

A/N: I hope it isn't draggy... The rest of it will have to wait for my muse to magically appear and whisper into my ears. This was written quite some time ago, and I have been side-tracked by many, many other shows. Don't worry, I am still trying to squeeze something out X)


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